A Call to Help
by Kyte27
Summary: Yusei is always helping everyone, but Aki wants to help repay the favor and show him a token of her gratitude. Suddenly, her idea comes in from noticing Yusei's old phone. Faithshipping.
1. Chapter 1

"These formulae have limited application, so they can only be used in situations where velocities are much less that the speed of light and accelerations can be neglected."

At the small table at the far end of the room, Yusei is sitting next to Aki, pointing out bits of her Physics homework. Fortunately for her, Yusei is a natural whiz on this thanks to his skills and knowledge on mechanics.

"Harmonic motion," Yusei reads to himself as he holds his jaw in thought, his brow furrowed down. "What is it, Yusei?" the girl asks her mentor. Yusei mildly shakes his head, trying to remember the equation. He rubs his eyes. He was very tired from working on Crow's D-Wheel earlier that day. Noticing the gesture, Aki bites her bottom lip gingerly. "Yusei, if you're tired, I can let you rest. I'm sure I can pick up on the formula," she reluctantly says, stroking her book's page with her index finger.

Yusei opens his eyes half-way, looking at the girl. He takes in a deep breath as he rubs the side of his head with his palm. "No, no. You have an exam at the end of the week, Aki. You asked me for help so I can't just leave you half-way into your studies."

The burgundy-haired girl couldn't help but smile. For her, Yusei has always been very loyal to not only his friends, but everyone else. Any other person would think its responsibility that drives him, but they would only be half right. To Yusei, anyone who is in need, he will do his very hardest to achieve their happiness. This young man has done just that for Aki, whether it be big or small. Of course, Aki is responsible and knows she can very well do things on her own. However, her trust in her dearest friend will always shine and accept any help he offers. If only she can somehow repay the favor...

The man stretches his toned arms over his head, yawning as silently as he can so he wouldn't be rude (thanks to Martha). He was wearing his usual clothing, except the trademark jacket and gloves. "I'm sure a glass of milk will have me awake in no time," he reassures.

Aki's ears perk up. "Oh, stay here, Yusei. I'll fetch that for you." Yusei's eyes blink at her direction. "Really, it's okay. Just keep reading page twenty-four and I'll be back in a minute." Aki stands up. "Yusei, it isn't a problem at all for me. Like you said, will take a minute," she insists with a considerate smile. The boy feels his eyes widen just slightly but his dark, sapphire eyes close as he smiles softly. "If you say so." Feeling in victory, Aki giggles softly as she closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then walks towards the kitchen.

The man turns around half-way in his chair, letting his arm hang over the back of his chair. He kept wearing his smile as he appreciates Aki's kind gesture. He isn't one to let others feel heavy on doing something for him, but that smile still manages its way out. As Aki steps into the kitchen, she opens the fridge as her eyes glance across the room and sees Yusei. He notices that she looks at him and quickly turns his head towards the homework. He felt a soft warmth growing in his cheeks. He prays that Aki didn't see the blush. The girl tilts her head with another smile, feeling her own warmth on her cheeks.

The relationship between Yusei and Aki is very close and innocent. They acted just like how a guy and girl would as friends. Including the awkward moments where something sparks within them. Aki Izayoi definitely felt an attraction to Yusei Fudo, her true savior. Yusei isn't used to girls at all so it sometimes strike as strange and awkward to him. Part of him knows its because he feels attracted to the young lady, but sometimes unsure on what to do. Sure, he can handle duels and mechanics, but he has no idea exactly how to play his cards right when it comes to women.

During their Fortune Cup duel, Yusei made it priority to help Aki as a person, to open her eyes and see that she is no monster even if she believes in it. However, now that she is a friend, he sees her as a woman as well. He finds himself looking at her at times, and quickly look away before she notices. He didn't have this issue as a kid since he was always with Jack and Crow, or being too busy on tinkering with broken radios and toy cars. He knew his two friends did that many times growing up, flirting with the orphange girls or try to peek at them in their rooms. Unfortunately for them, Martha would be right behind them and pull at their ears. But he knows if Martha was there at every time he would gawk at Aki, she'd most likely cheer him on.

Aki is also just as teased whenever her mother would chime in when Yusei comes into subject. Her mother would try to convince her daughter to wear more make up or wear prettier clothes. Aki naturally declines it all, happy with the amount of make up she uses and her Victorian-style clothing, but she sometimes finds herself looking into catalogs of women's cosmetics and clothing.

Aki blinks, snapping herself back into reality. She reaches into the fridge, taking out the milk carton. Yusei was the only one who drinks milk in the household. Jack prefers tea and coffee, while Crow drinks juice and energy drinks. Seems almost fitting to their personalities. The girl sets down the carton over the counter top, and takes a small glass from the cupboard. As she pours milk into the glass, she went into thought.

_There must be a way I can return the favor,_ she thought to herself. All sorts of ideas pop into her head, thinking on what she can do for Yusei with all the help he's doing for her. Unfortunately, she doesn't one-hundred percent know on how to help him with the D-Wheels or help him on his freelancing job on fixing things. She could offer help on his deck, perhaps suggest him in using a little bit of a Plant-engine, mainly using cards like Lonefire Blossom, Dandylion, and Spore. But she isn't sure on how he would react, having a duelist's pride and all.

The girl sighs as she closes the milk carton and places it back in the fridge._ There must be something, there just has to be-_

_'Going fast makes me feel alive; my heartbeat in hyperdrive_'

"Oh, my phone," Yusei says aloud as he walks to the couch and grabbing his cell phone from the inner-breast pocket. He squints his eyes as he looks at the caller ID and then flips it open. "Yes? Hey, Jack."

Whenever she sees Yusei's phone, she shudders. His phone was a very, very old-fashioned cell phone. The majority of cell phones in their modern age were touch phones and hologram projection phones that are mainly for business. Yusei's was an old model, a flip phone that didn't even have a camera function. Everyone would tell him that he needs a new one, even Zora, but he thinks its just fine. He believes that so long as it can make calls and receive calls, its perfect. With that, Jack and Crow would introduce their palms to their faces in defeat against the hard-headed fellow.

"You and Crow are staying over at Martha's? Yes yes, it was dumb of me to ask when she's cooking ramen-Jack, c'mon, don't yell at those kids, they're just as hungry as you. What? They're kids, don't say that! They'll be terrified at using their chopsticks from now on." Yusei recoils, taking the phone away from his ear as a loud scream shouts from the receiver end of his phone and then cuts off. He sighs heavily. "Martha got to him," he says to himself. He slips the phone back into his jacket and notices Aki standing there with his glass of milk.

Aki looks at him questioningly. Yusei rubs the side of his temple as he walks over to her. "Sounds like they're staying over at Martha's for the night and will come back after dinner tomorrow," he explains as he takes his glass. "Thank you, Aki." She smiles, crossing her arms behind her. "She's making shrimp-curry ramen again, hm?" Yusei chuckles with a nod. "Yeah, you know how Jack loves that ramen."

"What did Jack say to those kids?"

Yusei hesitates after he takes his sip of his white gold. "Well, the kids were asking if they can have extra, and Jack threatened with a pair of chopsticks being shoved up them. Traumatizing, isn't it?" Aki's eyes widen as she lets out a hearty laugh, covering over her mouth. Yusei smiles and breaks out a solid laugh.

Their laughter comes to a halt with a loud beep from Yusei's jacket. "Oh no," Yusei says to himself as he sets down his milk on the table and quickly sprints to his jacket and takes out his cell phone. "Damn, low on power. One second, I need to get the charger." Aki nods. "Take your time, Yusei." He nods back and runs up the stairs, "What a hassle." As Aki leans against the back of the couch, an idea pops into her head, causing her to happily smile.

She knows just how to repay Yusei!

* * *

><p><em>Hope you like the first chapter! This story will be a bit short, won't be as long as A Star Beyond Time but is a bit similar in style. Will continue soon!<em>


	2. Chapter 2

The metro train rides through the city of Neo Domino as the sun above shine brilliantly through the concrete jungle at noon. Inside the train, Yusei and Aki were sitting next to each other; Yusei was staring outside the window, his blue eyes watching the scenery pass by as Aki's hazel eyes were looking down at the ground. Her mind was trying to keep her plan as the main focus, but the fact that this is the first time they were sitting together was having her distracted. They were almost hip-to-hip with occassional elbow bumps. They never have sat this close before, let alone in some sort of transportation device.

"Aki, why couldn't we take our D-Wheels instead?" the man asks, keeping his attention towards the window, craving to feel the strong winds blowing in his face that he can only achieve on his Planetary Go.

Aki hesitates.

"Oh, well, there is a lot of traffic at this hour and all, plus it is nice using the train from time to time. Erm, right?" Aki smiles sheepishly, hiding an embarrassing shade of pink on her cheeks. Yusei simply nods. "Guess that makes sense." The girl starts to flick at her seat. Yusei is very attached to his D-Wheel and Aki respects that, knowing it was made due to the help of his Satellite friends. Still, she just wishes he can notice other things, too. Maybe even...

Yusei turns towards the Psychic Duelist, having Aki straighten up. "Aki, you really don't need to go through the trouble of getting me a new phone," he tells her. He reaches into his jacket, pulling his old phone out. "I really don't need anything fancy." Aki shakes her head, placing her index finger over the small red phone. "Trust me, you need higher tech than that old thing. I know you don't care much on appearance and fancy like Jack does, but it'll still say who you are." Yusei wasn't convinced and Aki can tell by the expression on his face, but she still must keep pushing. "You'll be connected better with everyone. Can give and receive pictures. That way, you can actually see how everyone is doing." Yusei looks back down at his phone in thought. Aki knew she was making excuses as she went. She really needed to do this as some sort of 'thank you' to him. The spikey haired fellow smiles, closing his eyes. "Well, guess that is true. I'd like to see pictures of my friends." As he places the phone back in his jacket's pocket and looks back at the scenery, Aki silently lets out a sigh. She could swear that this is harder than convincing an elderly man into modernizing!

* * *

><p>The train ride was for only twenty minutes. They arrived at the electronics district in Neo Domino, known as the Pulse District. The two Signers are walking through the streets. Aki was keeping an eye out for any shops that were selling cellular phones. Yusei was silent, staying by her side. "I actually never been to Pulse before," he admits quietly. Aki looks at him as if he had an alien sucking his face. "What? But, you love technology. I'd have figured you've been here before from buying things to just window shopping." Yusei shakes his head, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Never needed to, really. If I needed to see something that gets my interest, I'll look it up online. And if its parts I need, I can find ones in scrapyards." Aki grimaces.<p>

"Y-Yusei, you're in Neo Domino, not Satellite anymore. You could find top-rated things here in better qualities and quantities." The man shrugs slightly, looking up at the blue skies. "You'd be surprised at what you can find in a place deemed undesirable."

The girl worries she may have struck a wrong chord. Yusei has been through many prejudices just because he lived in Satellite or having the criminal mark on his cheek. She still remembers how people mistreated him at the Fortune Cup like they did with her. At least Aki had a mask to hide behind when people called her a witch. Yusei had no disguise to hide anything. Unless he did indeed wore a mask, and if he still does.

Her thinking stops to a halt when she feels a hand hold her shoulder. She stopped and looked, surprised to see that its a gloved hand. Yusei stood with her, looking at her. "You've been deep in thought all day. You okay, Aki?" Embarrassed, Aki slightly chuckles to shake it off. "Yeah, I'm okay. Besides, I'm rather surprised to hear that from you," she teases. Yusei smiles at the corner of his mouth. "I'm full of surprises." The two stand there, smiling. Aki really was thinking too hard on this today. She has been so caught up on thinking how Yusei works when she should just enjoy the time they have today. No duels, no D-Wheels, no one else. Then, an idea comes up.

"Yusei, how about we enjoy what Pulse District has in store for us?" she asks him, placing her hand over his perched hand on her shoulder.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Its a rather short chapter, I know. Been a bit sickly lately and I wanted to give an update for this story. Hope the chapter didn't have too much drabble. More to come!<em>**


	3. Chapter 3

Pulse District, Neo Domino's very own eletronics district, was packed. Many stores had sales clerks outside, advertising about new deals and specials for today. They were constant, shouting and insisting for people to please do check their newest sales, even offering certain deals that seem desperate, almost. People were window shopping, some were coming out in bags of new items. Mainly thanks to these sales clerks that stood outside for advertisement. The feeling in the air was calm and peaceful but busy, everyone was doing their own thing for the day and that is all that seemed to be the focus in Pulse District. Certainly Yusei and Aki were doing theirs.

"Hello, welcome to Chibi Chibi's E-Store!" a sales clerk calls out to the two entering duelists.

Aki bows with a smile while Yusei simply nods with half of a smile. Yusei starts to walk in one direction, catching Aki by surprise as she quickly takes follow. The burgundy-haired woman figured something may have caught Yusei's eye. They were in the computer aisle. Aki was seeing through the many shelves of diferent computer models, stopping at one in particular.

"Yusei, this seems like a nice computer. Maybe you could use this one instead of the old PC you have back at home?" she tells him. It was a bit of a small computer, but at that size could mean that it is very handy and useful for shcool or business. Yusei stops and looks back, just over his shoulder.

"That one doesn't have much gigabyte memory in it." Yusei said, " The 'old' model back at home was modified by me to hold a lot more GB and processing power."

Aki blinks and looks at the laptop. "He can tell just by looking at it, huh?" she tells herself as she continues to walk on. _Should've known. Yusei has a keen sense with electronics and machines. _

"Though, that one could work for you the best, Aki," Yusei suggests as his blue eyes make look at her.

The girl looks at him. "How so, Yusei?"

Her companion walks towards her and looks at the laptop, studying it. "It isn't as heavy as yours is, so this would be ideal for taking with to school or home or at our place. It has wider keys so would be less of a chance of any misstypes since I know those can be annoying."

He then takes off one of his gloves as he presses a couple of keys. "And they're not stiff at all. Very smooth, I'll give it that." Yusei stares intently at the laptop, fixing his glove back on.

Aki smiles at him. "I'll take your word for it, Yusei." She looks at the price tag as her nose wrinkled slightly, as if she smelled something very disagreable.

_With what Yusei said about this laptop, no wonder it's expensive. I'm not sure if I can afford it, but maybe I can take a loan from mom and dad for it sometime soon, _she contemplates to herself. Her parents do give her allowances time to time despite she wishes to get a small-time job especially to help maintain her D-Wheel. However, her father told her not to worry, and to just worry about her schoolwork instead. Aki realizes she's matured because she would see this as more of an insult, like he doesn't trust in his own daughter. But now, she knows he wishes to make up for the lost time.

Yusei pivots towards the register. "Excuse me, Ma'am, I'd like to buys this laptop."

Aki quickly looks at Yusei in surprise. "Y-Yusei, please, don't! I know its a good computer I may need but I can surely get one soon." Aki's pride couldn't let Yusei do this for her, not when she wants to treat him out for the day, not the other way around. She reaches out, grasping his forearm. "Really, it is expensive."

The raven-haired young man looks at her. "Really, it's okay. I have enough saved up, and besides, it's on one-day sale. Nothing to worry about," he reassures the the duelist. He slips out of her grasp and then walks up to the register, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket.

Aki looked down. Her pride was biting at her, but then again..This is a first for a man to buy her something like this. Divine did the same, but knowing it was for his own gain to see him as her everything, it gives her a bitter taste in her mouth. The sound of a ruffling bag brings Aki to look up as Yusei stands there, holding a bag with a boxed laptop inside.

He smiles softly down at her. "I'll hold it for you, okay?"

A stroke of pink brushes across her face as she nods slightly. "O-okay." A smile slowly grows on her beautiful face as she hugs Yusei's arm, taking Yusei back. She looks up at him.

"Thank you, Yusei."

The man stands there for a second, and nods slowly. "A-anytime, Aki," he softly says as he walks out the door. Aki looks at him in puzzlement. Did Yusei just stutter? She giggles at the idea of it, following him out the door.

* * *

><p>Both Signers sat from each other in a table of an ice cream shop. They both ordered two smoothies, Aki making sure she pays for both before Yusei got any ideas. The psychic takes her drink up, sipping through the straw, awkwardly staring at the wall. Yusei was doing the same, but instead viewing through the window, not touching his drink yet.<p>

"You haven't drank your smoothie yet," she says after taking her drink. Yusei kept his blue eyes outside the window. "My dad used to take me here all the time when I was a little girl. Their smoothies always tasted so good, maybe a bit sweeter than what I remember," she added with a soft chuckle at the end, maybe help loosen him up.

"I'll try it in a bit," he says.

Doubt was starting to wash into the woman. Yusei has never been this quiet before, let alone it is the first time where it's just the two of them. But when with others, Yusei smiles much more and even a bit more talkative at times. Right now, it just seems as if he would rather be somewhere else right now; maybe even with someone else...

Yusei shifts towards her, looking at her with seriousness. "Aki," he calls her out.

The girl looks up at him. "Yusei?"

The man looks down a bit, folding his gloved hands together out on the table. "Sorry if I'm so quiet. I can't say I'm used to this." Aki looked at him, confused. Looking at her puzzled expression, Yusei decides to elaborate more.

"I know I can't say I've always been a social one. As a kid, I've always shut myself in my room, fiddling with electronics or playing through my deck of cards. Martha always insisted for me to talk with the girls that were there in the orphanage, make female friends and maybe even some kind of 'puppy love'," he explains.

"I just want to say sorry for being silent today. I honestly don't have experience with girls."

Aki leans in slightly. "What about at the skating rink? Sure, Rua and Ruka were outside of the rink, watching us, but on the rink, it was just us two." Aki remembers when she lost her balance multiple times and Yusei always caught her. He didn't seem hesitant as he is now.

Yusei closed his eyes. "Well, that's because the goal we had is for you to get your license, and I wanted to help you with that. It made me feel happy that you wanted to learn about Riding Duels. And I will admit," Yusei opens his eyes, smiling a bit at the corner of his mouth. "I did have fun that day."

Aki smiled brightly at him. It does her so much good hearing that. It was reassuring to know Aki wasn't holding him back in anything and wasn't seen as close of a friend like Jack or Crow. Without realizing it, her hands reach out over the table and take Yusei's hands into them.

"Yusei, I had such a great time that day. And I'm having as much fun today, as well. Just with you, I'm happy." The duelist looks at her, hesitant for a bit, but his smile grows a bit wider. "I am too," he tells her, giving her hands a soft squeeze.

The two stay that way for a bit of a while, just smiling as they looked at each other. When Aki finally blinked, Yusei felt something warm in his face and quickly lets go of her hands. "I, uh, better take a drink before it gets warm, right?" he shyly says, taking his drink up rather quickly. Aki smiles with a gentle giggle, feeling herself blush, too.

"How is it, Yusei?"

After his sip, Yusei looks down at his smoothie. "It's really tasty, actually." He looks up from his drink to her. "Though, it is a bit sweet." Aki rests her head in her hands, still smiling.

"Glad I'm not the only one."

* * *

><p>As the sun began to set, the two Signers decide they should get Yusei's phone now before it got late. They walk into a cellular phone store. It wasn't as busy as the other stores were mainly because the Pulse District closes a bit early. This shop closes a bit later than usual, fortunately. Aki takes Yusei to the newest phones.<p>

"These look pretty good. A touch phone is very popular, and handy with all the applications available," she explains to him. Yusei takes one of the displayed phones, looking at it. He attempts to use the touch pad, but wasn't successful. Aki wasn't sure why it wasn't working but then notices the problem.

"Ah, but they don't pick up your fingers when you have gloves on." Yusei puts the phone back down.

"Yeah, I don't think a touch one works for me. I always wear my gloves, so guess its a bad choice for me," Yusei tells her. Aki coils her lips to the side a bit. "A shame, too," she says as they continue to browse the store.

Most cellular phones were touch phones and holograms. However, they both share the same problem of not being able to work with gloves, and Yusei always wear his since he's always one to be tinkering with things. It explains why the old cell phone Yusei has is great because it is a regular phone with a number pad, works with or without gloves. Aki bites her bottom lip. _Yusei would be able to find a phone in a junk yard with a keypad, but not in places like this. I wanted to show thanks to Yusei for everything he's done. _

As she walks towards the end of the store, studying the display cases, she looks up at the one at the farthest end. And there was the perfect phone for him. It wasn't a touch phone or hologram phone at all. It was a cell phone that can be swiped open with a keypad. Aki hasn't seen these kinds of phones since her father had one. She remembers how he loved this phone because it was ideal for business especially when always on the go. She smiles happily as she leans into the case.

"It's perfect."

Yusei is still at the front, looking through the cases and isn't exactly liking the ones on display. He sighs, feeling ready to tell Aki it was okay with his cell phone. "Yusei!"

He looks up, seeing Aki walk up to him with a bag of her own in her hands. Yusei looks at the bag. "What's that?" She smiles and takes out the box.

"Your new phone, Yusei!" she excitedly tells him. Yusei stares at the box as he lowers down the bag holding the computer to the floor beside his feet. He opens up the box and takes out a red cell phone.

Aki crosses her arms behind her waist, feeling a bit anxious. "It can swipe open to show a small keyboard that doesn't need bare fingertips at all. Also, has Internet service so you can use it incase of anything, and it has speaker phone unlike the one you had."

Yusei was still staring at the small device, pressing his fingers on the keypad. Aki began to feel more nervous. "A-and I chose out the color for you. I figure you like red, like I do, so..."

Yusei pulls Aki into a hug, leaving the girl in a complete daze. She was blushing insanely as her breath was taken away. His arms were wrapped firmly around her, his head next to hers. Yusei was just glad she couldn't see him blushing right now.

"It's perfect."

Aki slowly begins to smile happily, feeling her eyes water up as she returns the hug. "Anything for you, Yusei."

* * *

><p>The very next weekend, Yusei was tapping onto the keyboard of his computer, running a quick check-up on his D-Wheel. "Good, everything seems to be in order," he concludes to himself.<p>

A soft knock comes at the door. Yusei looks up from his display monitor. "One moment!" He slides himself off from his chair and walks up the stairs. He opens the door, but no one is there. He leans out, looking side to side.

"Hello?" he calls out. No one responds.

Just as hes about to close the door, he sees a very small box at the doorstep. He bends down and picks it up, closing the door behind him.

"What's this?" he asks himself as he slowly opens the box. He takes out what seems to be a phone strap. It had an elastic wire that loops through, and had a grey and black rings and orbs towards the end.

Dangling from the very end of the strap was a small ceramic. It was in rectangular shape and Yusei immediately recognizes one side having the backing of a Duel Monsters card. He turns it around, and sees a small, detailed picture of a Stardust Dragon card.

_This is really detailed. I've seen Ruka make one of these for school when she showed me last week, _he pondered. His thumb grazes softly over the miniature charm. _She couldn't have done this, even for her being very creative. _

His cell phone lets out a small ring from his desk, causing him to look. "A text message?" he figures.

He walks down the steps and slides the cell phone open. It reveals a media message from Izayoi A.

He opens up the message.

**I hope you like the charm, Yusei. Ruka showed me how. **

A picture was attached. Yusei downloads the image.

It was a picture of Aki making a heart sign with her hands over her chest. Yusei felt a bit of warmth in his cheeks, seeing the girl's cleavage in view. But something else catches Yusei's attention.

Her fingers. They were covered in bandages.

He remembers that Ruka said that making charms were painful, sometimes hurt yourself or even a couple of cuts, especially if its your first time. Yusei had to smile. She not only helped him get a cell phone that was ideal for him, but even make a charm. He always saw things that were hand-made to be the most unique thing in the world because no matter how many you make of the same article, they all will be different.

Yusei began to type into the keypad.

**I love it, Aki. When can you come over again? I'd like for you to show me how to save images as a wallpaper.**

_-Fin-_


End file.
